A Rhino beneath a Distant Wall of Snow

A Rhino beneath a Distant Wall of Snow is an original illustration set in Chitwan Terai, Nepal. It lies in the subtropics, where the climate is monsoon-influenced humid subtropical — dry winters.

A one-horned rhinoceros pushes through elephant grass taller than a person on a flat, warm floodplain. Dark sal forest closes one side of the clearing, while sandy river channels and a thin white line of Himalayan summits appear far beyond the green lowlands.

Why can a one-horned rhino live in tall tropical grass within sight of snowy mountains?

Rivers descending from the Himalaya spread fertile alluvium across the Terai, where monsoon floods renew grasslands, riverine woods, and marshy channels. The low elevation supports subtropical heat and dense vegetation even though the high mountain front is visible nearby. Tall grass, sal forest, braided floodplain water, and a greater one-horned rhino therefore reveal Nepal's Chitwan Terai rather than a cold mountain habitat.

Terpano is a free daily geography puzzle. You study one original illustration, place a pin on a borderless terrain map, and see how close you were. There is no account and no sign-up; progress stays in your own browser. It plays in 11 languages.